§ Mr. Chichester-Clarkasked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1) what representations have been made to the Danish Government regarding the capture, off the Greenland coast, of quantities of salmon bearing tag marks indicating origin in the British Isles;
(2) whether he will set up a committee to look into the damage done to the British salmon fishing industry by the capture off Greenland of quantities of salmon bearing tag marks indicating origin in the British Isles.
§ Mr. HoyDanish scientists have co-operated with ours in the study of this problem and, as I stated in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Woking (Mr. Onslow) on 17th June, the number of tagged fish of British origin caught in Greenland is up to the present time very small compared with the number of such fish caught in British waters.
The problem was discussed at a recent meeting of the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries, which is the body responsible for fisheries conservation in the area and the Danish Government is well aware of the anxiety which we and the other countries concerned feel. All member countries have been asked to conduct research into the possible effects of the Greenland fishing on their salmon fisheries. In view of the international character of the problem I do not consider that these researches would be facilitated by the establishment of a committee in this country.